Some of the advantages of an illumination device worn on a user's head are well-known. Surgeons, for example, might wear a lamp on their heads to focus light on a patient while leaving their hands free to perform surgery. Surgical head lamps are connected to a power source by an electrical cord. Application of such lamps is very specialized and portability is limited.
Hard hats may have lamps mounted on them for exploring caves, working in mines, or dealing with night-time utility emergencies. They are not practical for general use, however, because their weight and lack of head ventilation makes them uncomfortable to wear.
A head lamp, with growing presents in the marketplace, has head straps for mounting the lamp on the user's forehead. The lamp projects a light beam ahead of the user. Though the device leaves the user's hands free, the projected light is totally slaved to the direction faced by the user's head. The user must move his head up or down to vertically adjust the projected light. Further, the immediate vicinity of the user is not illuminated when the light beam is directed ahead of the user. Hence, if the user directs the light beam ahead of him to see where he is going, he might not be able to see the ground under him to avoid tripping in the dark. Still another shortcoming of conventional head lamps is that they don't illuminate the user. Illumination of the user can be important for being seen by oncoming drivers and can be life-saving when jogging or during roadside emergencies. Still another problem is that the weight and bulk of a conventional head lamp, including the batteries, are on the user's forehead and are therefore unbalanced and unsightly.